The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 3 (of 10): From the First Battle of Ypres to the End of the Year 1914Parrott, Edward
History
The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 3 (of 10): From the First Battle of Ypres to the End of the Year 1914
Parrott, Edward
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile literature
Private Abraham Acton, 2nd Battalion Border Regiment, and Private James
Smith, 3rd Battalion Border Regiment. These two soldiers on 21st
December, near Fromelles, volunteered to go out and bring in a wounded
man, who for seventy-five hours had been lying exposed close to the
enemy's trenches. They succeeded in rescuing him, and later in the day
again left their trench, in order to bring another wounded man into
cover. While carrying him into safety they were under fire for a full
hour, and every moment of it they ran the risk of being shot down.
* * * * *
On the last day of November our troops were greatly delighted to hear
that his Majesty the King had come to visit them. The Prince of Wales,
who was a student at Oxford, and an enthusiastic member of the Officers'
Training Corps when the war broke out, had already been at the front for
some months as a member of Sir John French's Staff. Britons all over the
world were delighted to know that the heir to the throne had set such a
fine example to the young manhood of the nation, and that he had thrown
himself into his military duties with great zeal and devotion. From the
moment our troops left British shores the King's thoughts had been with
them, and as soon as circumstances permitted he crossed over to France
to cheer them by his presence, to show his personal interest in their
welfare, to visit the wounded, and to pay the highest compliment in his
power to our gallant Allies. Never since George II. had fought at
Dettingen, in 1743, had a British sovereign taken his place among his
troops on the field of battle.
Accompanied by the Prince of Wales, his Majesty first visited the
hospitals, where he spoke with great sympathy to many of the wounded
men, not only British but German. Many a poor fellow lying on his couch
of suffering found himself better able to bear his pain because he knew
that his King had a kindly thought for him. His Majesty also visited the
Indian hospital, and talked with many of the men, who were delighted to
learn that in some cases he knew the circumstances under which they had
been wounded. One Sepoy sprang from his bed as his Majesty appeared, and
called out in the only English that he knew: "God save the King!"
Later on, his Majesty made a tour of the whole British front, and
inspected all the troops who were not actually in the trenches. It is
said that he also visited the bivouacs by night, and in every way made
himself acquainted with the conditions under which the men were living
and fighting. He also presented the Distinguished Service Order and
Distinguished Conduct Medals to a number of soldiers who had been
mentioned in dispatches, and conferred the Victoria Cross on some of
those who had won the award early in the war. An officer of the Royal
Engineers thus describes the inspection of his division:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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